What’s around to see?

Some 10 minutes drive west of the resort cluster on Wenquan Road are two colossal karst caves. Archeologists have unearthed about 2,000 kinds of animal fossils there and two skulls of homo erectus dating back 580,000 to 630,000 years. The skull is now displayed in one of the caves.

About three kilometers northwest of the caves, there is a 230,000-square-meter Ming-culture village where travelers can see grand Ming manors, lantern-lined streets and costume-clad staff performing different ancient trades.

The complex contains three gargantuan stone tablets. Standing seven, 10 and 51 meters respectively, these monuments were hewn in the Ming Dynasty to commemorate the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.

For history buffs, Chiang Kai-shek’s former private hot spring villa is open for visits near the Tangshan town center.